This invention relates to paper towel dispensers and, in particular, to paper roll holders therefor.
Certain prior paper roll holders for paper towel dispensers often had a complicated construction and could only adequately accommodate a single sized diameter core of a paper roll. These holders often included two circular, non-resilient end hubs having a sidewall inserted into the core. Since these hubs were non-resilient, these holders could only accommodate one sized cores. None of the prior art paper roll holders could accommodate paper rolls with various sized cores while maintaining a constant center line relative to the transfer mechanism.
Other holders included an extra piece releasably connected to the two end hubs. Though holders equipped with this piece could accommodate different diameter cores, the holder suffered several problems. First, it did not permit a tight fit with cores having a larger diameter than the end hub. This caused resistance by the larger core dragging on the holder rather than rotating with the holder during dispensing, making dispensing much more difficult. Second, the center line of these larger diameter cores would be moved down from the center of the hubs, which could cause the lower peripheral end of the paper roll to interfere with other portions of the dispenser, such as the transfer mechanism. Third, the extra piece often became lost or misplaced during roll replacement.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved paper roll holder which avoids the disadvantages of prior paper roll holders while affording additional structural and operational advantages.
An important feature of the present invention is the provision of a paper roll holder which is a relatively simple and economical construction.
A still further feature of the invention is the provision of a holder of the type set forth which can accommodate a range of differently sized paper roll cores.
Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a holder of the type set forth which minimizes drag of the paper roll on the paper roll holder to ease dispensing of the toweling.
Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of the holder of the type set forth which maintains the axes of various size of paper roll cores in the same position in a paper dispenser which prevents interference of the paper roll with other parts of the dispenser.
Certain ones of these and other features of the invention may be obtained by providing a paper roll holder for rotatably supporting a paper towel roll having a core with open ends. The holder includes a support structure having first and second attachment portions and two hubs insertable into the core of the paper towel roll for holding the paper towel roll. Each hub is rotatably coupled to an associated attachment portion of the support structure and includes a body having an axis and a resilient compressible sidewall having a maximum at rest diameter. The sidewall being radially compressible from the at rest position to a plurality of smaller diameters, whereby the sidewall is insertable into the open end of a plurality of differently sized cores.
The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.